Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister, on Monday (9th August) said that Pakistan will play a prominent role in the Afghan Peace Process, however, maintaining peace is a shared responsibility of ours and the international community.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi held a press conference today (10 August) in Islamabad in which he said that no harsh comments can make him let go of his desire to attain peace in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Shah said that there are powers who wish to keep Pakistan in a sandwiched position only for their own ambitious power.
Shah said that Pakistan has often advised people not to point fingers, adding that if they have a problem, they should bring it up, discuss it, and work out a solution. He has invited the Afghan foreign minister to visit Islamabad in writing to raise the issues that he is concerned about so that they can talk about them as neighbors. He added that Pakistan had also asked the Afghan government to avoid playing the “blame game” and engage in serious dialogue with Pakistan to address the region’s issues which can help them in maintaining peace and security.
We’ve made it clear that we don’t have any favorites in Afghanistan. We see Afghans on all sides of the fight. Regrettably, Pakistan is being blamed for the faults of others. Instead of throwing accusations at Pakistan, the issues of governance and the collapse of the Afghan National Defense Forces must be investigated.
The minister added that all efforts must be directed toward achieving an inclusive, broad-based, and complete political settlement through an Afghan-owned process. He said that the future of Afghans is in their own hands.
Pakistan had been consistently saying that there can never be a military solution instead a negotiation was the only way to solve these problems. According to the Foreign Minister, Imran Khan has always been an advocate of conducting the peace process through negotiation, and now the international community also thinks the same way.
Shah recalled all the times Pakistan has acted as a bridge in bringing the Taliban’s to the table:
- Brought Taliban’s for negotiations in 2019.
- Facilitated the signing of the US-Taliban peace deal in Doha in February 2020.
- In September 2020, Pakistan aided in the convening of intra-Afghan talks.
- Pakistan contributed to the parties’ agreed-upon procedural procedures in December 2020.
- Pakistan has joined the United States, Russia, and China to help support intra-Afghan discussions and the Doha process.
According to the Minister, Pakistan is looking forward to the impending troika meeting on August 11 in Doha. Pakistan has also invited Afghan leaders to a summit in Islamabad to discuss the way forward, except the Taliban, he said, adding that the conference had been postponed at Ashraf Ghani’s request.
Pakistan will not apologize, he said, adding that we will express our viewpoint since we have been true and honest in achieving peace and stability in the region.
Sacrifices made by Pakistan
According to Qureshi, Pakistan has paid a high price because of the Afghan conflict. The world must understand that Pakistan has been a victim, as it has had 80,000 casualties and massive economic damage. He claimed that Pakistan had never supported a military takeover and that it would result in a great deal of bloodshed.
Our goals in Afghanistan, he continued, are in line with what the US and the international community are saying. “Orderly withdrawal” is what we want. When you withdraw, you must do so in such a way that no vacuum is created within Afghanistan, because we believe that if there is one, terrorist groups will take advantage of it. Along with the withdrawal, there should be a negotiation process that goes hand in hand.
The role of Pakistan in the Afghan Peace Process will always be of a facilitator and not that of a guarantor.
